Molecular Nanosystems

Introduction

Carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are graphene sheets rolled-up into long skinny cylinders with diameters as small as one nanometer. These tiny carbon tubes have remarkable chemical, mechanical and electronic properties. A nanotube is one of the strongest and most resilient materials known to exist in nature, with a tensile strength more than one hundred times greater than steel.

Applications of carbon nanotubes

Depending on their electronic properties, carbon nanotubes are either metallic or semiconducting nano-structures that are useful for a broad range of applications, including nano- and molecular electronics, mechanical, electromechanical, chemical sensors, and scanning probe components. The chemical synthesis of nanotubes is the most basic aspect of nanotube science and technology. In particular, the ability to synthesize nanotubes into ordered architectures on surfaces for controlled placement and orientation and controlling their properties is critical for their successful commercialization. Controlled growth of carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition is one of the company's core competencies.